HEC Degree Attestation Is Now Fully Online: The 2026 Process Explained
If you need your degree attested for a job in Saudi Arabia, the UAE or Qatar — or for study abroad — there's a big change you should know about. On 11 May 2026, the Higher Education Commission moved its degree attestation to a fully online, paperless system. Here's what's different and how it fits into the wider attestation chain.
What changed
The old system meant visiting an HEC regional centre, queueing, and couriering documents. The new system lets you apply online 24/7 through the HEC e-services portal, upload scans, and receive a downloadable e-certificate you can forward to any employer or university worldwide. For overseas Pakistanis especially, this removes the need to travel back or rely on a representative for the HEC step.
The fee
The HEC attestation fee is now Rs 3,000 per document. It's higher than before, but it replaces the old hidden costs — travel, hotel stays, photocopies and courier charges — so for many applicants the real total is lower.
HEC is only step one
An attested HEC degree is not the finish line for a Gulf job. The full chain for using a Pakistani degree abroad usually runs in three stages:
- Issuing body — HEC for university degrees, or IBCC for matric/intermediate certificates.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) — Pakistan's MOFA then attests the HEC/IBCC-verified document.
- Destination embassy — finally, the embassy or attestation authority of the country you're moving to (e.g. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar) legalises it.
Each step has its own forms, fees and sequence — and getting them out of order is the most common reason a file is sent back. Our attestation service manages the whole chain end to end so your documents arrive ready to use.
A quick tip on supporting documents
Keep clear scans of your degree, transcripts and CNIC ready before you start. If any document is in Urdu and your destination needs English, you'll also need a certified translation — see our translation service. Planning to use the attested degree for a work move? Pair it with our visa services.
Hijrat handles HEC, IBCC, MOFA and embassy attestation from our Aabpara office in Islamabad — serving Rawalpindi and overseas Pakistanis. Fees always itemised before you pay.
Attestation rules and fees change frequently. This article reflects information available on the date of publication — always confirm current requirements with Hijrat, HEC or MOFA before applying.